Taking the beloved bike on the train

Part of my volunteering with Sustrans includes attending events away from my local area.  In the last year I have attended events in places including Bristol, Birmingham, Stafford and Leicester.  I always try to cycle to events if possible if they are close enough or use public transport if they are not.  How easy is it to do this?

Luckily most events are held within reach of the train station where the event is held so in most cases I will leave my bike at Burton Station, where there is currently ample storage on the platform with CCTV covering the area.

The events in Birmingham are usually a 10-15 minute walk into Digbeth from New Street so there is no particular need to ride a bike at the Birmingham end.  The event in Bristol was a bit further away from Temple Meads but over a 20 minute brisk walk I was no more than 5 minutes later than a fellow ranger who had taken his Brompton.

At this point I will mention that my bike Jose is a non folding hybrid.  I have looked into buying a folding bike for these occasions but they are not frequent enough at the moment to justify spending the money on buying a decent one that is easy to fold and has gears.  Never say never though!

In October this year I attended an all day event in Stafford which included a led ride around Stafford.  As I was leading the ride I really needed to take the bike!

The last time I had taken the bike on the train I had come back from Nottingham via Beeston Station and was unable to get my bike on the first train towards Derby as it was a 1 coach East Midlands Trains service that already had a bike on.  I will say that I had not planned my journey in advance that night and the next train back was a 3 coach Cross Country Service which took me back to Burton without any further issues.

Previously back in my youth I had taken my bike from York to Sunderland on train and despite making a reservation that day I was turned away from my Transpennine service due to lack of space.  Luckily I was more then welcome on the next train to Newcastle where my bike fitted in well in the huge driving van trailer of a GNER service.  Taking my bike to university was a pivotal moment to my love of cycling so getting it there was key.

Waiting at Burton.

My journey to Stafford was shorter than the above but I was still anxious to ensure I could get my bike there and back.  This journey involves 2 short journeys using 2 different companies - Cross Country and London Midland.

The ticket booking was easy enough as always but the information for making bike reservations was more complicated and contradictory at times.  For my outgoing journey from Burton to Tamworth I was able to book a reservation for which I received confirmation from Cross Country.  However there was no reservation necessary for the return journey.

On London Midland I could not find any useful information on cycling reservations other than services that you definitely could not take a bike on.  In order to double check about reservations I used the contact page on the website but disappointingly did not receive a reply.  I have used the much maligned London Midland service several times for family trips to London and have found them to be of excellent value.

Storage on Voyager type train

Whilst at Burton station I observed the announcements as usual - the stations the trains were stopping at, whether there was food on board and the all important announcement of where first class is situated.  Interestingly there is never any announcement about the location of cycling or disabled access so you have to work it out quickly when the train arrives.

The journey from Burton to Tamworth was on time and very smooth.  As I had set off very early the train was nearly empty.  The service was a long distance one using a voyager unit which had 3 designated and secure cycling spaces.  It was a shame that the journey was only 10 minutes long.

On arrival back in Tamworth I was then able to use a lift between the 2 platforms on different lines before a 20 minute wait for the service from London to Crewe which formed the once hourly service via Stafford. I had seen a train pull in on the opposite platform so had an idea where the best place might be to board.

Again the service was on time and I was able to find a space in the disabled area - which fortunately from my point of view, was empty.  I was relieved to be able to get on the train without any reservation.  The journey was smooth and around 25 minutes long with just a small delay getting into Stafford.  The conductor was very knowledgeable and was dealing with a number of customer issues further up the line with good humour.

On the London Midland service

After a good day in Stafford I eventually returned to the station at around 4.50pm so was once again relieved when I saw there was space for my bike, although it was busier than earlier.

At Tamworth the change of platforms was slightly more complicated due to the position of the lifts - this time requiring 3 lift rides.  The Cross Country service on return was the Cardiff to Nottingham service using a 3 car unit with cycling storage near the disabled area - which was probably why I could not make a reservation for this part of the journey.

So while my journeys were all on time and I was able to fit my bike on all of them, I feel that it was rather by luck and the fact I set off early.  Even on the voyager long distance service there were only 3 spaces (although I understand Cross Country are bringing in more of the older Intercity 125s which have more space).

I found the reservation system to be inconsistent and open to interpretation and I think there needs to be more information at the stations as to where the cycling facilities are on the trains.